Gadgets and random musings

Writing

I’ve not done substantial writing during the past eight years. Most of my work during my second act has involved writing for the web, social media, and this blog.

My fascination with long-form writing hasn’t stopped, which is why I attended the 2017 Midwest Writers Workshop this past week. Held in my hometown and attracting nationally known writers, the conference was a great opportunity to hear writers talk about their craft and get exposed to the business side of publishing.

I’ve toyed with writing a novel throughout my life. Allegedly, I have a nearly finished piece of work somewhere on a 3.5 floppy disk.

Writing is hard for everyone, but I face two challenges. I cannot type and I like to rework sentences after I finish them. Both can be troublesome when attempting marathon writing sessions. I’ve tried to learn to type, but nearing 50 I don’t think I can train my brain any further.

My goal for the rest of the year is to write more. I have several ideas kicking around for a novel, mostly in the scifi and technopolitical thriller genres. Mostly I am writing for myself. Perhaps one day I may get published, but that’s not important for me at this point. My goal is to practice the craf and enjoy creating plots, characters and worlds.

I have a few ideas for a non-fiction book, as well. I was discouraged at the conference to learn that an author’s platform — expertise plus audience – is very important to non-fiction writing. It seems these days one needs to have thousands of followers on social media to make non-fiction book ideas a reality.

Alas, I don’t want to work that hard on social media. Maybe I should to develop a platform. Social media is a mess these days, though. It’s no longer fun for me.

The conference may lead to some other writing opportunities for me, which would be nice. For now, I’ll try to update this blog more regularly. I may even share some of my non-fiction and fiction writing here. Perhaps I’ll start a newsletter and attempt to monetize this blog by being an Amazon Affiliate and offering a PayPal donation button. Regardless, thanks for reading.